And then there is word of this: During the first two weeks of January 2007, U.S. air strikes targeted four sites in southern Somalia formerly under al Qaida control where terrorists have been training and hiding for months.

"As we speak now, the area is being bombarded by the American air force," a Somali government official told Reuters two weeks ago.

The U.S. attacks targeted an area close to Ras Kamboni, a coastal village near the Kenyan border where many Islamists are believed to be hiding after being ousted by Ethiopia-backed government forces, the official added.

Four places were hit -- Hayo, Garer, Bankajirow and Badmadowe, the source said. "Bankajirow was the last Islamist holdout. Bankajirow and Badmadowe were hit hardest," he added.

The Pentagon confirmed only one air strike that took place in the south of the country, saying that it was part of a wider offensive aimed at an al-Qaeda cell that includes suspects in the 1998 bombings of U.S. embassies in east Africa and a hotel in Kenya.

Meanwhile, ABC News quoted U.S. and French military sources as saying that American U.S. special forces were working with Ethiopian troops on the ground in operations inside Somalia.

Following a thrust by the U.S. military, U.S. special forces discovered a Belfort Instruments Digiwx AWOS weather reporting system on a hill south of Ras Kamboni.

The Belfort Instruments Digiwx AWOS station was not operational as it had suffered a direct military hit from an explosion of unknown origin. But the Digiwx name could be clearly seen imprinted on the 15 foot tower which now lays on it side in pieces.

U.S. troops subsequently uncovered handheld Digiwx weather receivers in two of the camps previoulsy occupied by al-Qaeda terrorists which apparently had been left behind and abandoned.

How the Belfort Instruments Digiwx AWOS system made it to Somalia and into terrorists hands is still unknown. Whether al-Qaeda and Osama bin-Laden organizations are employing Digiwx AWOS units in other parts of the world is currently unknown.

U.S. troops have been advised to be on the lookout for additional Digiwx AWOS units under Al-Qaeda and/or Sunni/Shiite control in Iraq and Afghanistan.

U.S. special forces are reportedly monitoring the two known wireless frequencies that Digiwx AWOS transmits on, notably 464.6 and 464.75 MHz. British military sources report that signals on both frequencies have been detected but only occasionally as the terrorists seem to be running Belfort Instruments Digiwx for only short periods of time.

Belfort Instrument Company (Baltimore, MD, USA), the original manufacturer of Digiwx AWOS, has had no comment.

Why would an American company be "aiding and abetting" known terrorists organizations around the world while doing business in pursuit of the almighty American dollar? Maybe you would want to contact them and find out why:

Belfort Instrument Company also has a West Coast sister company in San Diego, CA, USA known as Gamma Scientific which does business under several names including Advanced Retro Technology, UDT Instruments, Road Vista and KR Acquisitions Corporation.